Showing 1 - 10 of 15
All eyes on Asia
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 05/10/2018
» Asia's premier cine-event took off last night. The 23rd Busan International Film Festival once again draws all attention to the South Korean port city as it hosts the annual showcase of films, especially Asian films. One part to promote the South Korean film industry -- a formidable machine of creativity and commerce -- and one part to reign as a centre of filmmaking activity in this part of the world, Busan has gone through some bumps, political and managerial, but remains steadfast in being in the biggest in Asia.
In the kinky zone
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 16/12/2016
» No more debacle: Prabda Yoon's Rong Ram Tang Dao (Motel Mist) is finally in cinemas. Last month, just one day before the original release, the film's investor TrueVisions decided that they didn't like what they saw (despite the film having been finished 10 months earlier) and pulled it off the programme to the shock of many, chiefly the director. Rampant criticism of self-censorship followed. Now the filmmakers have decided to untie themselves from the deal and release the film on their own, so you can catch it now at SF CentralWorld, House RCA and Bangkok Screening Room.
Something wicked
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 06/05/2016
» It's New England in 1630, before the Salem Witch Trials, but the presence of Satan, real or deluded, is ripe in the woods of the new colony. Robert Eggers' The Witch vibrates with that sense of dread, of something subterranean (though visible to us), something that exerts its evil influence on the mind of the isolated, feverishly pious settlers.
Our state of indefinite transition
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 27/02/2016
» We feel like Tom Hanks in The Terminal, a man stuck in a long transit, and not just any long transit but a perpetual transit in a storm-whipped airport, our boarding pass torn to shreds and our destination — is this destiny? — marked with the sign “indefinite delay”.
Chinese hegemony
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 01/01/2016
» A gloomy assassin prowls the breathtaking fields of the Tang-era kingdom, while China's awkward march to become a 21st century world power stirs the emotional core of its people. The two Chinese-language films — Mountains May Depart from the mainland, The Assassin from Taiwan — let us savour two distinct sensibilities in the main competition as the world's largest movie showcase rounds its last bend. The awards will be announced on Sunday night, and the two films seem to have a decent chance of winning prizes, either big or small, in a year when the majority of the top-tier line-up leaves much to be desired.
Winter Sleep, Saint Laurent
Kong Rithdee, Published on 04/01/2015
» A tortured soul who cuts exquisite clothes hits the main Cannes screen, to our supreme delight. "<i>Saint Laurent</i>", a biopic of the French couturier that was premiered here Saturday, floats into the festival with intelligence and sensual poise. It's remarkable that the director, Bertrand Bonello, manages to avoid most of the cliches about a depressed genius despite the familiar arc of the story, meanwhile Gaspard Ulliel, playing the title role, makes Yves a champagne flute that's as fragile as it is unbreakable. The good news is that the film already has a Thai distribution; so just wait for the release date, hopefully soon.
Cannes report: Festival favourites
Kong Rithdee, Published on 04/01/2015
» After 11 days of hits and misses, of expectations fulfilled and dashed, the 66th Cannes Film Festival will announce the Palme d'Or winner on Sunday.
Cannes report: 'A Touch of Sin' an early favourite
Kong Rithdee, Published on 04/01/2015
» Good year? Bad year? Average year? The question is common, extraneous, and yet on everyone’s lips after three days into the 66th Cannes Film Festival.
A glittering showcase of film
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 04/01/2015
» Cannes Film Festival opens today with Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby, and for the next 12 days the Mediterranean resort town on the French Riviera plays host to the 66th edition of the world's most respected, most influential and most circus-like cine-jamboree. Stars, filmmakers, industry bigwigs and journalists congregate for the annual pilgrimage that celebrates, sanctifies and commercialises cinema to an extent that's both astounding and puzzling.
Sin and the art of redemptive violence
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 04/01/2015
» Sitting in the courtyard of the Carlton Hotel in Cannes, Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke talks about violence _ the violence in his new movie that is riding a wave of critical favour at the world's biggest film festival, and the real violence back in his home country where the unstoppable motor of progress has brought on many changes, good and otherwise.